Communications to help keep metros on track
Helsinki City Transport (HKL) is responsible for running Helsinki Metro, as well as other public transport, such as trams, city bikes and the Suomenlinna ferry in the greater Helsinki area.
Helsinki Metro is the fastest means of public transportation between the suburbs of East Helsinki and West Espoo and downtown Helsinki. It is also the most frequently operated public transportation on those routes. It consists of two lines that serve 25 stations in the length of 35 kilometres.
People working for Helsinki Metro and trams rely on VIRVE, the nationwide public safety network in Finland for their professional communications. The start of the year 2014 saw the regional transport organization around Helsinki join Virve.
The drivers, dispatchers, stations and various maintenance teams who work on the tracks use TETRA radios to get in touch with each other.
The instant and reliable two-way communication lets staff from diverse areas of the operations communicate as needed. This helps keep the metro network running smoothly, which is a direct benefit for the passengers.
Benefits from group calls
Communications over VIRVE are reliable, and the group call function is an important feature. Markku Kari, Operator at Metro operation control center, Helsinki City Transport says that the earlier communication system did not feature group calls. VIRVE and its group calls have remarkably increased the working efficiency.
VIRVE also makes it possible for certain Metro teams to be part of a multi-authority talk group. Thanks to this, it is fast and efficient for the teams to get in touch with authorities such as guards, rescue department and the police when necessary.
Learn more – watch this video where Markku Kari shares interesting things about Helsinki Metro and its operations:
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